1. Field of the invention
This invention is related to the field of collapsible reels, and has for object the provision of new and improved collapsible reels allowing for effortless coil removal. A further object is to provide new and improved collapsible reels which may be easily collapsed and which may be securely latched in uncollapsed configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A prior art patent search was conducted and a list of patents which appeared to us to be most pertinent to the invention follows.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,529,185 Nov. 21, 1946 Proctor shows a collapsible reel with four moveable spring loaded reeling arms locked into place by the wedging action of a locking nut which pushes the arms outwardly. When the arms are locked they grip one of the flanges which can be removed once the nut is unscrewed. The system requires the complete removal of a flange and unscrewing of the locking nut, operations that lengthen the task of removing the coil from the reel. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,459,336 Oct. 22, 1946 Powell illustrates a collapsible reel where the collapsible spokes are made up of two parts, one of them rigid and the other hinged at the bottom and able to rotate and thus freeing the coil of wire. The locking mechanism uses a hub comprising internal latches and links attached to the collapsible arms to prevent the arms from moving while in uncollapsed position. The holding capacity is limited by the semi-circular shape of the bottom of the coil retaining assembly. Moreover the relative complexity of the locking mechanism makes it prone to malfunction in intense field use. PA1 CN 429110 Mar. 15, 1943 Troche illustrates a system in which sectional rims collapse, thus allowing the coil to be removed. A segmented rim comprises an articulated one piece saddle shaped coil support, a mechanism using links and a longitudinally moveable spider allows the coil support to move from an uncollapsed to a collapsed position. The displacement is controled by the position of the spider along the shaft. The hub of the spider comprises an extension along which run two helical grooves which fingers protruding from a locking handle thread in. By rotating the handle, the spider is moved along the shaft, pushing the links and thus lowering the sections of the rim. Though the position of the saddle changes, the angle swept is insufficient for the coil to pass easily over the edge upon removal of the coil. A hammer is often needed, thus lengthening the process and requiring greater effort from the operator. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 2,264,992 Dec. 2, 1941 McCarthy describes a collapsible reel for rope and similar material. The reel is composed mainly of two sets of two pairs of narrow flat bars; one set is fixed and one set is collapsible. The rope wraps around four longitudinal bars mounted outwardly around a central shaft. At the fixed end, the longitudinal bars are hinged on the radial bars fixed at the rear of the central shaft. At the collapsible end, the collapsible bars are hinged at a 90.degree. angle on the longitudinal bars. The collapsible bars have a lever extention hinged to attachment brackets sliding on the shaft. A central spring acts on a bushing pushing the brackets, thus strenghtening the reel in winding position. The skeleton structure is not strong enough to withstand the strain of use with heavy-duty electrical wire because the only blocking mechanism is a spring which can be compressed by the leverage action of a person manually tilting the collapsible bars. Under pressure from heavy duty electrical cable, the coil could be released without warning. PA1 a central support shaft comprising a rear section, a middle section and a front section; PA1 a rigid side mounted cicumferentially on the shaft, for side support of the coil, comprising a set of first radial arms fixed to the rear of the shaft, these radial arms comprising a base, a middle portion and a tip; PA1 a coil retaining central portion, comprising a number of plaques pivotally mounted on each fixed arm; PA1 a set of second radial arms each arm being pivoted intermediately to the plaque, between erected and collapsed positions, in erected position the first fixed and second pivoting arms being sensibly parallel to each other and perpendicular to the shaft and the plaque being parallel to the shaft, in collapsed position the plaque being inclined relative to the shaft and the second pivoting arm being further inclined almost parallel to the shaft, the second radial arm comprising an inner end oriented towards the shaft, an intermediate portion and an outer end tip; PA1 a slider axially mounted on the front end of the shaft and pivotally attached to the inner end of each of the second arms the slider being able to move from a closed position corresponding to the erected arm position to an open position with arms in collapsed position; PA1 means for blocking the second arms in erected position, thus locking the slider in closed position.
While study of the prior art shows several inventions proposing solutions to the problem of providing an efficient collapsible reel, none has a combination of means or capabilities equalling those of my invention.